The Weekender: Urban Gardening Part 1 - DIY Raised Patio Garden Planters

Over the past year, my inner Martha Stewart has been clawing its way out. I'm not sure what's caused this sudden domestication, but lately I've been all about making things from scratch. From fresh baked bread to the three layer, triple chocolate cake with peanut butter chocolate chip cheesecake and peanut butter buttercream frosting cake I made for my husband's birthday, I've been baking and cooking like crazy!

Which is what led me to gardening. I started with herbs planted in vintage canisters and milk glass bowls. I spent an obsessive amount of time staring at my gorgeous herbs before deciding it was time to go bigger and start a veggie garden.

My little indoor herb garden.

The idea didn't take much planning. If you google raised garden beds, you'll see that they're pretty easy to make; it's a box on legs. Our landlords had planned to build their own raised beds the year before but never got around to it so they still had the wood, plus a few scraps from other projects. Using their wood as a starting point, we decided to keep our design pretty simple and build 3 4' x 2' tables. The first two tables were 33" high and 11" deep with a shelf on the bottom to hold gardening supplies. The last table was 16.5" deep to hold veggies with longer roots and only 24" high, which makes it the perfect height for growing taller things like tomatoes and cucumbers.

After coming up with our plan and making a list of needed materials, it was time to make the hardest decision ever:

TREATED OR NOT?- Seriously, there are HUGE debates about this online. Some people fear that the chemicals in treated wood will contaminate their garden. The wood that my landlord had was treated so we had no choice but to work with it. To be safe, I googled and found that since 2003, arsenic is no longer used to treat wood. Nowadays, treated wood contains alkaline copper quat (ACQ) and copper azole (CA-B) which work to protect the wood from soil rot and ward off insects. If you're worried about the copper getting in your soil, studies show that only a negligible amount of copper actually leaches into the soil, so even if ingested, you'd have to eat a LOT of veggies in a short period of time for it to amount to much.

That said, if you have the money for it and want a certified organic garden, go with cedar or for a cheaper option, try fir. The treated wood we had from our landlord wasn't enough for all 3 beds and when we went to to buy more, all they had was cedar. To make our planters look uniform, we used the cedar on the fronts of the planters and saved the treated wood, some of which had warped from being stored in the garage, for the backs.

My first time at Menard's lumber warehouse. I think THIS Home Depot girl may have to switch teams!

There are other things to take into consideration such as soil choice and planting method. I'll go over that stuff next week. As far as style, do a google image search and you'll come across tons of design ideas. We wanted easy and inexpensive so our design is pretty basic but you could go crazy with built-in benches, powder-coated metal legs, and built-in water systems. Make them long and narrow to fit condo patios or go big in a suburban backyard. The possibilities are endless!

RAISED GARDEN TABLE

LAZINESS SCALE:

TIME: 1 day

COST: $50-$100 per table depending on type of wood

SUPPLIES:

• (1-2) 4"x4"s cut to desired table height for use as legs (ours are 33" and 24")
• (2) 8ft 1"x6" boards cut into (4) 4ft sections
• (1) 8ft 1"x6" board cut into (4) 2ft sections
• (2) 8ft 1"x4" boards cut into 2ft sections (add an extra 1"x4" if you want to build a shelf, optional)
• (1) 8ft 2"x2" cut into (2) 4ft sections (for the shelf, optional)
• bolts or decking screws (we used screws)
• vinyl hardware cloth
• landscaping cloth, window screen mesh, or cardboard
  **calculations based on one 2'x4' table that's 11"deep

BUILD - This is super easy. Screw (or bolt) the 1x6s to your legs. When it's all together, turn the table upside down and lay your 1x4s across the bottom to serve as the supports for the soil. If you plan to add a shelf, attach your supports to the legs at the desired height, then screw the extra 1x4 boards on top. (Side note, you don't have to use 2x2s for the shelf supports. We did because that's what we had on hand but you could use any size boards cut to size.)

STAIN - Staining isn't necessary. My landlord was super worried about the cedar warping and had me add the stain, which is also a waterproofer, to help it last longer. We used Cabot Solid Color Acrylic Siding Stain. This was my first time using a solid color stain and I have to say, I LOVED it! Unlike regular wood stain which is thin and watery, it goes on thick like paint which came in handy for doing designs. It only took one coat, 2 in a few spots, to finish the job. 

MESH - Cut the hardware cloth and your landscape cloth/screen/cardboard to fit your table adding a little bit extra to go up the sides. Place the hardware cloth inside the table resting on the slats and use a staple gun to staple it to the frame. Add the fabric/cardboard and do the same.

Raised planters have a problem retaining water since there's no ground under them to keep the moisture in. For this reason, landscaper's cloth or cardboard are good liners since they both hold moisture. If you use cardboard, just be aware that eventually it will decompose which is good for the soil since it will leave behind lots of beneficial nutrients, but bad for you since you'll have nothing keeping your soil inside. We were going to use cardboard to line the bottom of the planters but we didn't have enough so we used our landlord's landscape cloth. The weave of the cloth is so tight that it doesn't drain when you water your plants, and instead, the water slowly evaporates through the bottom of the cloth which is good. We've been watering every 1-2 days so far no problems!

FILL & PLANT - Now you're ready to fill your planters! Move the planters to your desired location (they're heavy once soil is inside) and add your soil, plants, and seeds. I'll post about our soil and gardening choices next week. Till then, happy building!

The Weekender: DIY Concrete Countertops Part II - 2.5 Year Update & Resealing How-To

Our resealed concrete counter!

Two and a half years ago, we embarked on our biggest DIY project - a concrete-topped kitchen island. From designing the island to building the frame to pouring the concrete, we did the whole thing ourselves. Talk about stress! I spent months researching concrete and trying to convince my husband that we really could do this on our own. After finally getting him to say yes, it was MY turn to freak out. What if the base we built wasn't strong enough and we ended up with 500lbs of concrete crashing through the floor? I'm pretty sure we'd lose our security deposit. Nonetheless, we dug in and after a few mistakes with the base (like screwing up the measurements and not realizing it until AFTER we finished building) and a lot of mistakes with the concrete finishing steps, we ended up with the island of our dreams!

>> Want to build your own countertop? Check out our concrete countertop DIY tips.

So after 2 1/2 years, how do we like the concrete? We LOVE it! It's just as beautiful as it was the first day and we couldn't be happier. If we weren't renters and I didn't already like the wood counters in the rest of the kitchen, I would do all the tops in concrete. As long as you're willing to do light maintenance and get rid of harsh cleaners, you'll love concrete too. Below are a few basic rules we follow.

UPKEEP & MAINTENANCE:

Cleaning - Bleach, vinegar, and other harsh cleaners will eat through your sealer. Instead, stick with soapy water, gentle sprays like Clorox Anywhere Spray, and granite/stone cleaners. We generally do soapy water for daily cleaning and use the Anywhere Spray for disinfecting. I've cheated and used bleach kitchen cleaner a couple of times when we were out of Anywhere Spray. It won't immediately ruin your concrete but if you do it regularly, it will. We use the granite cleaner when we want to give the counter a little treat or when we're having guests over and we want it looking its absolute best. We also use it after waxing the counter. Our favorite is Method's Daily Granite. Like all their products, it's eco-friendly and smells AMAZING! They were sold out of it when we went to the store last month so we bought Zep CleanStone Plus Cleaner + Polish instead. Like Method, it's around $5. It smells good and I like that it's a foam.

Food & Drinks - No matter what you do, your concrete is going to patina so don't freak out too much if you notice something. Still, there are little things you can do when cooking to keep the wear to a minimum. Most things (use a cutting board when cutting, use trivets for hot pots and serving bowls) are pretty standard for any countertop surface. As for drinks, we rarely use coasters. Once, I left a glass of ice water on the counter and came back to find it dripping and sweating all over the concrete which left a ring. 15 minutes later, the ring had evaporated. If you're going to leave a glass of freezing cold water dripping on the counter, I'd say use a coaster just to be safe. If you're just having a cup of coffee or glass of water and it's not sweating like crazy, you're fine since most water rings will evaporate. Be careful with acidic foods and drinks because they can eat away at or penetrate the sealer. I left a jar of condiments on the counter (can't remember what it was) and it left a ring that took weeks to go away. Now if I look hard, I can still see a very faint ring.

Waxing - We waxed our countertop EVERY. SINGLE. MONTH. like clockwork. We used paste wax but you could also use carnuba wax or beeswax if you want something more natural. The wax provides a barrier and helps the sealer last longer. A lot of websites suggest that you refinish your counters at the 1-year mark, but because we were faithful about waxing it every month, we were able to make it 1.5 years before we started seeing any wear to the sealer. 6 months later, we resealed the counter. To see if your sealer is on its way out, try the drop test: if a drop of water soaks into the counter, it's time to refinish. If it beads, you're good to go! I knew our sealer was worn when I left a damp towel on the counter for a minute and the water absorbed into the counter. This happened more and more as the sealer continued to wear. Once we decided to reseal, we stopped waxing so that the wax would have time to wear off.

Holes and Cracks - Another sign our sealer was worn was when I noticed all the little pinholes we'd left on the surface kept filling with flour every time I baked. They had partially filled with sealer when we first made the counter, but when the sealer wore down after a year and a half, the holes became deeper and began to hold flour and other particles. We were left using nails and toothpicks to clean them out. It made me hate cooking!

I learned during my research that hairline cracks are to be expected during the life of your counter but we've made it this long without seeing a single one. This past Christmas, we went to Ohio for a week and I absentmindedly turned off the heat while we were gone. Our landlord came in on the last day and turned the heat back on because they noticed our apartment was making theirs cold. He said it was 32 degrees in our apartment and that he could see their breath. When he told me this, I freaked out. Freezing temps don't exactly play well with concrete, just ask your tires! Thankfully, our counter remained in place and crack-free. Awesome! Still, if you see a hairline crack or two, it doesn't mean anything horrible is happening. Just fill the cracks like you would a hole and you're all set. (If it's a large crack, you may have something more serious happening in which case, feel free to freak out!)

Tiny holes filled with flour

And that's it! See, keeping up with concrete counters isn't that hard after all! Now it's time for the last maintenance step, resealing.

RESEALING CONCRETE COUNTERTOPS

LAZINESS SCALE:

TIME: about 1 day

COST: FREE!!!

SUPPLIES:

• leftover cement color (optional; new - $5.17)
• Sandpaper
• Sander
• Sealer (new - $18+)
• Wax (new - $7+)
• Grout/compound (new - $5)

2 MONTHS OUT - Stop waxing. The wax creates a barrier that you'll have to sand off in order to reseal the counter. Once you see your sealer is worn, stop waxing and make a plan to reseal the counter in 2-3 months. When it's time to reseal, you'll have a lot less work to do if you don't have wax to deal with. By the time we were ready to reseal, our counters were pretty much worn down to the bare concrete. 

SAND - If you recently applied wax to the counters and can't wait 2 months to reseal, you'll have to use a sander to cut through the wax and into the sealer. There are also etching products that can help if you have a lot to get through. You could even try using stripper, though I'd recommend using a less harsh citrus stripper. If you used a stain or cement color, you may want to stick with sanding so you don't eat through your color. If your counters are as worn as ours were, a quick sand by hand may be enough. After that, I washed the counters to get rid of dust.

FILL & SAND - After a mistake vibrating the bubbles out of the concrete the first time around (more on that here), we ended up with a lot of holes that we decided to leave unfilled because we liked the look. It was fine until the sealer started to wear and I was left with a bunch of tiny holes that filled with flour when I cooked. This time around, I decided the holes had to go. 

I tried using Quikrete's Concrete Filler, but the filler was very rocky and the holes in the counter were too small for it to work. So we headed to Home Depot to search for grout and instead came across Quikrete Paching Compound. It's the perfect consistency. It took me a couple of passes to make sure I got all the holes but it was easy to spread with a putty knife and the excess wiped off with a damp towel. We used charcoal grey concrete color to make our counter so after the compound dried, I put a little color on a paper towel and went over the holes a couple of times to die them the right color. After that, do another light sand to level off the grouted areas and clean once again to remove the dust. I mostly concentrated on the tiny pinholes in the middle since those are the most annoying. We still like the look of the rough edges so I didn't go too crazy filling the edge holes all the way.

Filling the holes with compound. I used a towel to add color to the grout after the compound dried.

SEAL - From here, I followed the same steps I did when I sealed the concrete the first time. I still had my spray bottle of sealer so I gave it a good shake, then sprayed it on the counters and used a big foam roller to even it out. Originally, I only did 3 coats but this time I went crazy and did like 4 or 5. There was no reasoning behind it, I just had a lot of fun spraying I guess! Unfortunately, I got distracted during the last coat and the sealer started to dry before I could roll it out which left me with faint marks where the foam sat too long. I didn't notice this till after I finished and applied the wax so now I'll have to lightly buff the spots out with 400 grit sandpaper. Thankfully you can only see them if all the lights are on and you stare at the right angle so t's not a huge deal.

Applying the sealer.

WAX & ENJOY! - Apply a coat of wax and resume your monthly waxing schedule like you normally would. Then you're finally ready to enjoy your newly sealed counters!

All done!

The Weekender: The Lori Wall Bed

Watch out Moddi. There's another Murphy bed on the block from Lori Wall Beds. A reader who was attempting to build a Moddi Murphy bed actually told me about the Lori. The Lori is a stylish bed with many options that easily transforms into a functional storage area when folded. Like the Moddi, plans for the Lori Wall Bed can be bought and downloaded for a small fee, however Lori takes it one step forward by also offering the bed already completed! To see more, take a peak a the video below:

The Lori has SO many awesome features. Here are a few of my favorites:

• The Lori DOESN'T NEED A LIFTING MECHANISM!!!!! Since this is where most problems building the Moddi occur, skipping this step with the Lori will make your life 10x easier. Instead of a lifting mechanism, the Lori uses the rounded edges of its base to simply rock up into position (don't worry, it's only 50lbs). Once up, there are two latches at the top to keep the bed in place. SO EASY!!
• There's a nightstand above the bed and storage on the outside. Yep. When the bed is folded, the base forms into 2 shelves (on the middle, one at the top) for you to store knick-knacks, mail, etc. When it's time to go to sleep, there's a shelf on the inside of the bed frame that folds down and acts like a nightstand to hold your cell phone, night light, and favorite book. Ingenious! While I love the look of the Moddi, it's not functional when folded up and you don't get the extra nightstand.
• An important part: easy customization! Don't get me wrong, the Moddi is a great looking bed, however it limits you in a lot of ways. For the outside, you end up with the Lack grid. It's not horrible, but if it doesn't exactly blend in with your style, you're stuck. The Lori is made of plywood and can be stained or painted any colors you like. You could do all sorts of things with the shelving to help it stand out or blend in. The fact that the bed looks like an actual bed when in use is an added bonus. I would play with the dimensions a little to allow room for under cabinet lights to add mood/accent lighting. You can also hang art on the outside of the bed when in the up position or above the nightstand when the bed is down. Plywood is strong enough that if you were using the bed in a studio apartment, you could easily mount a medium sized flatscreen to the outside for when company comes and then move it inside when it's time to go to sleep. You could also add bookcases around the bed to give it a built-in look. My mind is already whirling with more customization ideas...

All images via Lori Wall Beds Myspace. Yep, Myspace.

• Want a queen? Finally you CAN have a queen wall bed. Not only does Lori offer queen sizes, but they also have both vertical and horizontal plans for sizes from XL twin to queen.
• It's sturdy. Now I've never seen a Lori or a Moddi in person, but a lot of you have emailed to say that the Moddi isn't a bed you would use on a nightly basis because of fear that the mechanisms would malfunction or the base would give out. Lori's strong base design provides plenty of support for nightly sleeping.
• Lori will help you out! The reader who told me about the Lori said he emailed her for help and she quickly got back to him. There's also a discussion board on the site for you to post questions and show your bed.

 The Moddi (image via Moddi)

Like the Moddi, you'll spend anywhere from $150-$300 building the bed. It really depends on the types of wood you use and how much customization you use. The one place where Moddi has the upper hand is in price when it comes to the plans; Moddi's plans are only $7.95 while Lori charges $18. Still, the Lori appears to be SUPER easy to build so your frustration level will be down which makes the extra $10 worth it!

So what will you choose? The Moddi or the Lori?

Studio Makeover: Workroom Update + Easy Wall DIY

It's been awhile since I updated you on all the projects going on in the studio. I've been in such a hurry to get them done that I rarely stop to take pictures or document the progress. But as we finished up the workroom last month, I actually remembered to photograph everything we did. A miracle!

First up, I made a commitment and glued the wallpaper down. Last time I posted about the workroom, I told you that I was stapling the wallpaper instead of gluing it. I was afraid I'd change my mind and didn't want to be stuck with yellow flowers forever. But after 8 months of living with the pattern, I can't imagine changing it!

Gluing it down was easy. The wallpaper was pre-glued and after all these years, it was still sticky. All I had to do was put it in water and stick it on the wall.

Next it was time to add a little trim. I needed a place to hang some of the art we have for sale and the side of the workroom was perfect. I used white trim to frame out a large space, cut out the wallpaper inside it, and painted it turquoise to match the bottom half of the wall. It was a perfect, easy solution, especially great for those trying to add interest to an otherwise boring wall.

Before

Wall Frame DIY

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This DIY is SO easy that I'm not even going to bother to explain it. Just head to Home Depot, pick out a trim to coordinate with your room, paint it, cut to size, and attach it to the wall. There are so many decorative options here. You could fill the inside of the frame with wallpaper (like the picture on the left) or with a contrasting paint color. Make the trim the same color/stain as your molding, the same color as the wall, or add a punch of bold color. Endless possibilities!!

New art for the living room!

We've lived in our apartment for over a year and NEVER found the right art to go on the wall behind our couch. Part of the problem is the wall color. We were originally going for a coral but we tried so hard to avoid being too orangy that we ended up way too pink! I've hated the color ever since but we've been too busy/lazy/tired to actually find a color we like or find any art that matched without making the room darker. We also needed the art to have some white in it to better tie in the bright white trim of the room and help bring down the contrast between the trim and the walls. And the art needed to be awesome! We considered making something ourselves and literally spent months trying to decide on a design only to come up with nothing. We considered maps and art collages and posters but nothing worked! So we threw up some old splatter paintings we did in our old apartment and called it a day.

 

Our old splatter paintings, which I can't stand.

Until a couple weeks ago when we were vendors at the Randolph St. Market. I was taking a break from our booth and walking around when I saw the PERFECT pieces in John's (a fellow dealer) booth. I stopped dead in my tracks and made a beeline for his booth. John ALWAYS has something cool and interesting and this time was definitely no exception. It's like these pieces were MADE for us! John and I have made trades before when we both like something in the other's booth so this time we were able to do it again: I got the two art prints and he got our awesome 70's yellow spotlight. I wish I had taken pictures of the light before I gave it to him because it was pretty cool! Next time...

My new art!

Just look at them. They're super colorful, and the background ties in our white trim. YEA!! John found the art, which is mounted on foam board, at an estate sale in Oak Park. It was created by the owner of the house; John couldn't remember her name. There were a few light stains and the edges were a bit roughed up, but it matched the age of the art and added character so it didn't bother me! The only thing these babies needed were frames, which I was happy to make. If you're ever in the need of a quick, easy-to-make frame, don't worry, you CAN do it!

 

LOVE the new look!! 

Quick and Easy Frames

1) CUT: To make the frames, I used 1"x2" wood cut to the size I wanted. If you don't have a big miter saw to angle the edges, you can buy a small miter box (like one of these from Home Depot) that comes with a hand saw. We have one at home. It's easy to use and small enough for apartment dwellers.

2) JOIN: To keep the frame together, put wood glue or another strong adhesive (I used Loctite Power Grab) between the joints. After that, staple the joints together which serves to both hold them together while they dry and also reinforce the frame. Sometimes when you flip the frame over to the front you'll notice a small gap. You can fill them in with wood filler or a sawdust/wood glue mix. Let dry.

2) COLOR: Stain or paint the frame

4) ATTACH: Lastly, staple the foam board/wood/art to the back of the frame.

5) HANG: I used screws and picture wire to hang the art but you can also use sawtooth hangers or even pop can tabs to hang it.

Enjoy your new art!

Studio Makeover: The Doors

The doors are (almost) done!!!

After stripping, sanding, and staining for what seemed like an eternity, I finally got the doors kind of done. For now, I've only worked on the front. I got so tired that I didn't do the inside of the door. I think I'm going to go the lazy route and just leave the inside painted white since the only person who's going to see it is me anyway. I still need to get curtains to hide the mess and find some awesome antique doorknobs, but other than that we're done! 

Oh, and did you notice? WALLPAPER!!! I really wanted some old, retro wallpaper to decorate the outside of the room. I searched Etsy and Ebay looking for paper with red in it to bring out the red pipes above the room but couldn't find anything, especially in a full roll like I needed. But on a thrifting expedition Monday, I came across a FULL ROLL of groovy wallpaper. It looks like something straight out of The Brady Bunch! There's no red but I love the pattern and there was tons of it. Best part...it was $2.69!!!! Does it get any sweeter :)

Wallpaper up, time to paint!

I ended up stapling the wallpaper to the wall instead of pasting it. I constantly change my mind so I figured this was a better decision, that way I can easily switch it out for something else down the road. The pattern is busy enough and the staples are far enough apart that you have to look hard to find the staples. I did glue the wallpaper on the right side of the door because I was at the end of the roll at that point and had to put together several small pieces that didn't want to unroll. The paper is pre-pasted so all I had to do is wet it and smooth. If only everything was so easy!

Next on the list: finding door knobs, finally painting the green above the workshop, and finishing the taping and painting of the drywall inside the room. Almost there!

Studio Makeover: The Beginning of the Workroom

This weekend we built our new work/paint/sanding room. When I say "we," I mean Sam and Jesus from Property Comfort Interiors built the room while Jerome and I painted. Sam is our landlord's nephew and has been a huge help as we've taken on various projects around the apartment. Thank God they had a free weekend to help us out and were able to get our room up in just seven hours!

BEFORE 

Jerome and I took care of painting while Sam and Jesus did the building.

All done!!! (try not to laugh at my drywall taping)

The green paint is going to extend over top of the workroom.

At 12' x 6', it's not the biggest room but it's just the size I need to work on furniture and store my tools. Unfortunately we couldn't add a ceiling due to fire codes; the room must have access to the sprinkler system in the rest of the studio and paying for sprinklers to be brought down and added was NOT in my budget. That means we'll have to come up with some clever ways to work around having an open ceiling, such as using more water-based products to deal with smell issues or using plastic tarps over the ceiling of the room when doing smelly/messy work.

My favorite part of the studio so far? Our new doors for the workroom! Instead of paying for boring standard doors, we decided to go vintage. I wanted something wood with glass panels so I can see outside of the room while I work. I searched craigslist but couldn't find what I wanted. Then as we were loading drywall into the freight elevator, we found FREE old doors on the loading dock. According to Sam, these doors would go for several hundred dollars if we tried to buy them. MAJOR SCORE!!!! They were just laying there waiting to go out to the trash. They even have the glass panes that I wanted. Talk about awesome! I'm currently in the process of stripping, sanding, and staining them dark walnut. I can't wait to see how gorgeous they look when they're hung on the workroom!

I'm also in the middle of taping the drywall. By myself. This could be bad! So far, most of my taping has gone well and there have only been two pieces that didn't turn out right but I'll get those fixed in no time. The final coat of joint compound goes on today and tomorrow I'll be able to start priming and painting. Sam will be back on Friday to install the doors and then the room will be finished. YEAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

Studio Makeover: Painted Floors Part 1

We started phase one of our studio remodel this weekend...painting the floors! The original floors were just bare plywood subfloor, not something I wanted to keep. We considered a lot of options like laminate or wood floors but in the end painting was cheaper. It was also easier than our original idea of pulling apart shipping pallets and using the planks to make wood floors. Be warned, that's NOT a project you want to take on until you've thought through how you're going to remove all those nails and plane and sand the boards. It's a LOT of work!

While part of me really wanted to stain the wood, using the building-required low VOC stain and sealer was too expensive for us. So we stuck with paint. After two days of PAINFUL floor painting that killed our back, shoulders, and arms, we're happy with the results! We used five gallons of Behr Porch and Patio paint in Gentle Rain to cover a 1200sf area and it turned out perfect. I'd highly recommend painted floors to anyone looking to do something a little different with their space. My suggestion though: use primer! We didn't because we were trying to save ourselves from having to paint any more coats than necessary. Instead we did one full coat and then thinned the paint with water to do a second coat. We also didn't seal it. Because this is a work space and there will constantly be furniture moved around, leaving the floor a little "imperfect" was fine for our needs. If you're painting floors in your apartment, I'd definitely use primer, do two full coats of paint, and use a floor sealer to keep your floors fresh.
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Ready to be stenciled!

Next on our list - stenciling. We're on the prowl for a retro-inspired design to stencil on the floor. I have no clue what I want but thanks to pinterest, I have tons of inspiration to pull from. What do you think?

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